Skilled workers needed in Alaska's oil patch.

• Author: Miller, Amy
• Position: ALASKA TRENDS

Despite the recent dip in oil prices worldwide, Alaska's industry is facing a long-term labor shortage that policymakers are working to address.

Planning in Alaska's oil patch doesn't happen quarter by quarter. Due to the massive infrastructure needs associated with developing new prospects on Alaska's North Slope, companies must plan five to ten years out and align hiring and workforce development accordingly.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is working in partnership with the oil and gas industry to address needs identified in the Alaska Oil and Gas Workforce Development Plan, 2014-2018. The plan identifies two overarching demographic trends that are driving the projected shortage: first, the population of the United States as a whole is getting older, and a wave of retirements will soon hit a number of specific occupations in the oil patch; second, there are far fewer Gen X workers to take the place of retiring Baby Boomers due to the relative size of the two generational cohorts. A full third of the US workforce is comprised of Baby Boomers, most of whom are poised to retire by the end of the decade, according to the National Research Council.

The Alaska Oil and Gas Workforce Development Plan, which was completed in May 2014, projects that more than 32 percent of resident workers in Alaska's oil and gas industry will be eligible to retire by 2024. Currently, according to the plan, there are 20,249 workers employed in the Alaska oil and gas industry and their annual wages are $1.9...